Gripper



L. F. BLATT March 5, 1968 GRIPPER Filed March 16, 1967 22 FIGS INVENTOR LELAND F. BLATT BYWu M ATTORNEYS 3,371,953 GRIPPER Leland F. Blatt, Grosse Pointe, Mich. (24121 Mound Road, Warren, Mich. 48091) Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 550,193,

May 16, 1966. This application Mar. 16, 1967, Ser. No. 623,668

Claims. (Cl. 294-88) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A power cylinder-operated heavy duty jaw-type gripper is constructed to withstand and apply extremely high grip ping forces by the provision of a rigid compact mechanism which is fully supported in all directions to substantially reduce stresses and deflections.

This invention relates to improvements in a gripper and is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Serial No. 550,193 filed May 16, 1966 and now abandoned.

Brief description of the drawings FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the gripper assembly of this invention,

FIG. 2 is a perspective view, similar to FIG. 1, but with the gripper housing removed to reveal the actuating linkage.

FIG. 3 is a partially fragmented bottom view taken in the direction of arrow 3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the actuating power cylinder, showing the control valve schematically.

Detailed description Referring now to FIG. 1, gripper assembly generally comprises a housing 12 in which upper and lower jaw assemblies 14, 16 are pivotally mounted on pivot bolt 18. Actuation of the gripper jaws is accomplished by the reciprocating movement of clevis 20, as will be described below.

As is best illustrated in FIG. 2, upper jaw assembly 14 consists of a pair of identical parallel upper jaw arms 22 having affixed to their outer or right-hand ends a transverse upper mounting plate 24, to which may be secured gripping contact points of any desired configuration.

Similarly, lower jaw assembly 16 comprises a pair of identical parallel lower jaw arms 26 to which is secured lower mounting plate 28.

The reciprocating motion of clevis 20 is transmitted to the upper jaw by means of a pair of upper connecting links 30, which are secured to upper arms 22 by pin 32 and secured to clevis 20 by pin 34. In similar fashion, clevis 20 is connected to lower arms 26 by means of a pair of lower connecting links 36 secured to lower arm pin 38 and to clevis pin 34.

The above described components fit within bore 40 of housing 12. Clevis 20 is slidably mounted for reciprocating movement within the grooved portion 42 of the housing. It will be noted that upper jaw arms 22 are sandwiched between the spaced apart lower jaw arms 26, the gap between each of the upper jaw arms 22 at pin 32 being filled by upper connecting links 30. Connecting links 30 are similarly sandwiched bet-ween lower connecting links 36 at clevis pin 34, links 36 being coplanar with upper jaw arms 22.

A pair of upper spacers 44 is mounted at the outer ends of upper pin 32, and provide lateral support for upper arms 22 within bore 40 of housing 12. Further United States Patent 0 3,371,953 Patented Mar. 5, 1968 tween lower connecting links 36. Similarly, spacers 48 are mounted at the middle portion of pivot bolt 18 between upper arms 22. A pair of pivot spacers 50 are mounted on the outer portions of pivot bolt 18, and nest into guide slots 42 of housing 12.

It will be appreciated that guide slots 42 provide vertical support for the mechanism at both. the clevis 20 and at pivot bolt spacers 50. Full lateral or transverse support and rigidity is provided by the unique linkage configuration and spacers which provide maximum bearing surface for all the components.

A T-shaped slot 52 in the left hand portion of clevis 20 receives the end of piston rod 54 of actuating power cylinder 56, which is controlled by control valve 58.

Gripper assembly 10 is removably secured to power cylinder 56 by four mounting bolts which pass through holes 60 of the gripper assembly and 62 of the power cyl inder. These mounting holes are arranged in a square pattern, so that gripper assembly 10 can be mounted in either of two operating planes relative to the power cylinder. For this purpose mounting flange 66 on housing 12 is in cooperative engaging registry with power cylinder end plate 68.

It will be seen that gripper assembly 10 may be quickly and easily removed from the operating cylinder 'by merely removing the four mounting 'bolts, and then sliding the clevis transversely of cylinder rod 54 to permit the end of the rod to be withdrawn from the T-slot 52 of the clevis. This permits quick installation of a different type of gripper.

The mechanism is prevented from going over center by the abutment of lower connecting links 36 with edge face 64 of upper jaw arms 22 at the end of the jaw-closing stroke.

This invention may be further developed within the scope of the following claims. Accordingly, the above description is to be interpreted as illustrative of only a single operative embodiment of this invention, rather than in a strictly limited sense.

I now claim:

1. An improved toggle action jaw-type gripper comprising:

a housing;

a lower jaw comprising a pair of spaced apart parallel arms;

an upper jaw comprising a pair of spaced apart parallel arms sandwiched between said lower jaw arms;

said upper and lower jaw arms being pivotally mounted to said housing on a common pivot pin;

actuating means for opening and closing said jaws including a clevis mounted for reciprocating movement in a guide slot in said housing;

upper connecting link means connected at one end to said clevis and at the other end to a transverse upper connecting pin mounted on and between said upper jaw arms, said upper connecting links filling the space between said upper jaw arms at said upper connecting pin;

a pair of lower connecting links connected at one end to said clevis and at the other end to a transverse lower connecting pin mounted on and between said lower jaw arms, each of said lower connecting links being coplanar with a respective upper jaw arm;

first spacer means mounted on said lower connecting pin and filling the space thereon between said lower connecting links;

and second spacer means mounted on said pivot pin and filling the space thereon between said upper jaw arms.

2. The gripper of claim 1 wherein a portion of said upper jaw arms is contacted by said lower connecting links at the end of the jaw-closing stroke, to thereby prevent the connecting linkage from going over center.

3. The gripper of claim 1 wherein said clevis has a T-shaped slot to receive the similarly shaped end of the piston rod of a power cylinder, to thereby permit rapid disconnection of the gripper assembly from the power cylinder.

4. In the gripper of claim 1, third spacer means on said pivot pin exteriorly of said lower jaw arms mounted for jaw supporting registry in said housing guide slot in Vad- 10 Vance of said clevis.

5. 1n the gripper of claim 3, said power cylinder including an .apertured end plate;

and a similarly apertured mounting flange on said housadapted for securing registry therewith.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,959,444 11/1960 'Callender 294106 X FOREIGN PATENTS 108,455 9/1943 Sweden.

GERALD M. FORLENZA, Primary Examiner.

G. F. ABRAHAM, Assistant Examiner. 

